Jobless Rate Climbs To 7%

WASHINGTON -- Unemployment rose sharply to 7 percent in September -- a jump of two-tenths of a percentage point after declining during the previous three months -- the Labor Department reported today.

America also lost another 40,000 factory jobs, resuming the trend of deterioration in the U.S. industrial base.

It was the first rise in the unemployment rate since May when the rate was 7.3 percent. In comparison, the jobless rate in June was 7.1 percent, in July 6.9 percent and in August 6.8 percent.

In addition to the steady deterioration of the nation`s industrial sector, the monthly unemployment report also showed a sharp increase in unemployment among young adult men.

It also reported a continuing decline in employment in the oil and gas industry and a slowing increase in employment in the low-paying service sector. The Labor Department report means that 300,000 more Americans lost their jobs in September, putting a total of 8.3 million Americans into long unemployment lines.

For men between the ages of 20 and 24, joblessness jumped from 10.3 percent to 12 percent in September. That increase also pushed up the rate for a broader group of men -- those over the age of 20 -- to 6.2 percent.

The overall jobless rate for whites in September rose from 5.8 percent to 6 percent. It rose from 14.6 percent to 14.8 percent for blacks -- and also rose slightly for Hispanics, from 11 percent to 11.1 percent.